Woods starting to look autumnal in the ravine behind the old gym.
Complicated sky above a little neighborhood house that has sustained some injuries:
I walk past this house all the time, and if this is hurricane damage from two weeks ago, I'm a little surprised not to have noticed it before. The whole house is taped off and clearly uninhabitable, which makes me think that maybe they've had a fire instead. But then how would we have missed something that dramatic, two blocks from our own house?
Things do happen, and life does change in an instant. The husband is leaving for Memphis this morning, a day earlier than he had planned. He was going to visit his mother for fall break in any case, but yesterday we learned that his sister has had some kind of brain hemorrhage brought on by a blood clot, so he's going today to be with them. As far as we know at this moment, she's not in immediate danger of her life, but we will understand more about the situation as time goes on. At this writing I'm not planning to go, but if her condition worsens and I'm needed, I will.
My plan for the day is as ever: various writing and presentation-planning projects, research and dog-walking. I still have pork left, with brussels sprouts and corn on the cob that I made to go with it for my dinner last night, so that's what I'll have tonight as well. No pub night this week, unless I take myself out, which is not likely --- I think I'll probably just eat a lot of beans and save the meat for when the husband returns.
Plenty of Roderick Alleyn to enjoy --- I've just started the fourth one --- and two more seasons of Unforgotten. So I have pleasant things (or, well, as pleasant as murder mysteries get) to occupy me in the evenings.
In just a bit I'll wash my hair, as I didn't do yesterday, and get dressed. Today promises to be cooler than yesterday, with a high of only 60F, not 70 --- pleasant, but distinctly less warm --- and a low of about 35F. Again, I'm glad I brought my plants inside.
Trying to decide what I feel like wearing, given that I'm going nowhere except out for walks . . . I want to experiment with winterizing my linen dresses with layers, but do I feel like doing that today?
Stay tuned . . .
A LITTLE LATER:
Well, the husband is packing and showering, and I need to stay out of his way, so I've put off the hair wash until later and just gotten at least provisionally dressed for the day. This way I can walk the dog without worrying about wet hair --- and I'll get to it later, when I'm ready to take a work break. For the next few days I'll have the house and all my time to myself, so no hurry to do anything.
I did give myself a quick wipe-down, as I always do when I'm not fully bathing, with some rubbing alcohol --- pits, etc, anywhere bacteria might gather --- to be sure I smell okay until I do get a chance to bathe. If you're not going to use soap and water, then you really do have to use something (rubbing alcohol, vodka, whatever you happen to have on hand) that will not just mask smells, but actually kill bacteria on your skin, wherever moisture might collect and invite them to grow. My skin is so dry that even in hot weather I'm a bit sparing about full baths --- I love a hot, steamy soak, even in the summertime, but come out dessicated --- so I have devised a method for going several days, while keeping clean in areas that need that attention.
Anyway, I'm dressed now, at least for the time being, and will deal with my hair and all the rest of me later.
Wearing:
*Secondhand NPL Smock dress (S/M) in Dark Gray-Blue, bought December 2023, last worn October 3. Total wears this year to date: 23.
*Secondhand Smartwool (I think --- actually blanking on the brand right now) base-layer tee, bought late fall 2021, last worn a LONG time ago. UPDATE: Brand is Icebreaker. That's the word I couldn't think of this morning.
*Snag merino tights in . . . Iron Gray, or Slate, or whatever this particular dark-gray shade is called. Bought fall 2021 or spring 2022, can't remember now. Also last worn a long time ago, but back to play now.
*Xero Tari boots, bought summer 2022, last worn yesterday, also back in business for the season.
I love this linen dress so much. It's a serious contender for Absolute Favorite Dress. It's cool and floaty in the summer with a pair of Birkenstocks, but it layers so marvelously in colder weather.
I really like it over this rose-mauve close-fitting tee, too. The looseness of the dress means something rather sleek underneath (not a billowy button shirt, though I have worn my redyed Chicos shirt underneath pretty successfully), and a thin wool layer is perfect. I have worn whole dresses under this dress as well --- another good option when the weather's cold. It's just a massively versatile dress, as well as fun, with its wide, twirly skirt.
Again, I adored wearing this dress just as it comes all summer long, and I'm happy not to have to put it away as the season changes.
See how nicely it pairs with my new-to-me cashmere/rabbit-hair blazer cardigan, too:
I'm seeing this whole ensemble as a fall/winter staple.
And speaking of seeing, now I'd better go see my husband off on what promises to be a more somber and anxious trip than he had been anticipating. If you are the praying sort, we would appreciate prayers for my sister-in-law, my mother-in-law who depends on her, and the whole family.
LATER:
Have been reading Gary Waller's Walsingham and the English Imagination, which is simultaneously a really interesting history and examination of the literature associated with the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, and also a book you have to read with a certain squint, because some of the author's assumptions are just kind of . . . predictable. Also revisiting Dana Gioia's essay "The Catholic Writer Today," as I formulate my remarks for the closing keynote panel at the Catholic Imagination Conference.
I also just spoke to my mother-in-law. My sister-in-law is off the ventilator and communicating clearly, seeming not to have sustained any significant brain injury from this episode, about which I hope to understand more once the husband is on the scene. But this is good and hopeful news, far better than I was afraid the news would be.
As lovely and sunny as it is, I'm glad of my warmer layers this afternoon. The porch is a little breezy and cool, and after a short walk, Dora and I are back in the study, cocooning.
I have washed and dried my hair, though there's nobody but the dog to see me.
59 years and 49 weeks, babes. That's how old this face is. And as fragile as life is, it's glad to be here.
OH YEAH: Also continuing to read my student's MFA novella thesis. Still speed-reading, refraining from writing comments, will make another pass through it to do that once I have the story in my mind entire.